


glad to exist

by Trilies



Category: Katekyou Hitman Reborn!
Genre: Background Ship - Mukuro/Chikusa/Ken, Beards (Relationships), Domestic, M/M, No Beta, Polyamorous Character, Ten Years Later, no editing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-26
Updated: 2020-06-26
Packaged: 2021-03-04 03:22:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,751
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24926902
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Trilies/pseuds/Trilies
Summary: Takeshi supposes he lives a pretty strange life, nowadays. Nothing at all like he thought in middle school. Oh, sure, he's a famous baseball player now, which he's pretty happy about, but being a part of the mafia is kind of a twist.So is regularly paying M.M. to be his beard in order to keep his assassin boyfriend out of the spotlight, or taking care of hitmen while he's on a burger run.
Relationships: Kakimoto Chikusa/Yamamoto Takeshi, M.M. (Katekyou Hitman Reborn) & Yamamoto Takeshi
Kudos: 10
Collections: KHR Rare Pair Week 2020





	glad to exist

The paparazzi are kind of funny, Takeshi thinks. He's pretty sure that's not the frame of mind he _should_ have for them, especially after Gokudera has yelled at him so much about it, but he can't help it. They swarm around him so desperately for any sort of juicy gossip, this Japanese all star who's made a big splash in the baseball world, and all Takeshi can really do is _laugh_ about it. After all, what they think they want is some sort of basic gossip: maybe him going out to clubs, doing drugs, being caught with a girl or three. He knows some people on other teams who do that, and he doesn't judge them too much. Life is pretty short, after all. As long as they're not hurting anybody or messing up right before a game, it's fine if even one of his teammates decides to some weed.   
  
What's funny is that the things that are _actually_ worth talking about are things they'll never even _remotely_ consider as possibility. Would anyone believe a happy-go-lucky baseball prodigy from Japan is a part of the Italian mafia? Takeshi thinks about telling them upfront, sometimes. Just for fun. Just to see. He knows they wouldn't believe him, partially because of his personality, partially because of how no one in the know would actually SAY they're a part of a criminal empire... but he'd like to see what would happen.   
  
He doesn't, of course, mostly because he doesn't want to cause any real trouble for Tsuna, but also because Gokudera would blow faster than his dynamite if Takeshi tried something like _that_.   
  
So he just entertains it as a funny daydream, for the most part, even as he smiles and laughs and occasionally buys reporters and paparazzi alike some coffee if they're anywhere near a shop. Yet even if his mafia life is something they couldn't imagine... There's something else that the reporters couldn't ever imagine, but that he knows they would jump on far quicker. That, he puts actual work into hiding. Fortunately, he has the perfect partner in crime.   
  
Being in the Vongola means he has a lot of money to begin with. Being a superstar baseball player means he has even _more_ money. The thing is, Takeshi doesn't really _need_ all of that money. In his heart, he's always going to be the simple son of a sushi restaurant owner, the smell of the ocean carried with him while he helps prep the restaurant. So he tries to use up his money when he can. A lot of times it means donating to various charities, which only seems to make him more popular. Other times he uses it to send gifts from America to his dad, or any of his friends, especially Lambo who seems to love seeing all the cowboy stuff from places like Texas.   
  
Then there are the occasions when he uses it to pay M.M.   
  
She's a pretty nice lady, honestly! Sure, Gokudera seems to bitterly call her a gold digger, a mercenary who'd sell a heart of gold if it meant she could get a good price out of it, and every other Family or organization makes sure to hold her at an arms length so she doesn't have a chance to learn any secrets that she'd easily sell off to the highest bidder... But, really, Takeshi doesn't find her nearly that bad. He doesn't have that many secrets to hide, so he's not particularly bothered by her... and, honestly, he finds her refreshingly simple compared to the other kinds of deals that can go on in the underworld.   
  
"See, you _get it_ ," M.M. sighs when he informs her of this fact one day, when she's picking out the exact look she wants to go with for their latest outing. "Honestly, why can't more men be simple and loaded like you, huh?"   
  
All he does is laugh, and patiently waits for her to dress. He's not really sure, honestly, if by _simple_ she means him or she means the job he occasionally hires her for. Because it is a pretty simple job! All she has to do is accompany him places and look like she's having a good time, and, well, the gossip machine takes care of the rest. M.M. doesn't mind being in the spotlight at all. If anything, she seems to enjoy it, and Takeshi, well, he finds it pretty funny that the "vibe" she decided ages ago to give off with him was "leather dominatrix". Gokudera yelled at him for that, too, when he first saw it pop up on websites and in papers... But Takeshi likes it.   
  
It's not only because it's hilarious to read about, of course. People sure do seem to like gossiping about what a kinky sex life he must have! And then there's the _really_ interesting fanfiction that he didn't realize existed in baseball fan communities... But if it's something outrageous like that, then no one is looking for the real things. They enjoy the spectacle too much to realize that M.M. is only his beard, his shield, meant to hide the person he _really_ wants to be with.   
  
Today is no different, with her snagging his wallet as soon as they arrive at the hotel he's staying in for the day now that the season is over before she swans off to go... well, he doesn't usually know, although sometimes he can guess based on the shopping bags she brings back with her. He knows that she tends to wait around fifteen minutes before leaving the building at all, just to keep the paparazzi guessing, and he appreciates that. It's just his attention is focused elsewhere, and it's on the person sprawled out on the couch of his luxury suite.   
  
Takeshi can't help laughing, even as he makes sure to carefully lock the door behind himself. "Wow! You move really quickly! Did you break in like you always do, or did you figure something else out? I don't think you could have made it in through the windows like you did that other time."   
  
With an earbud hanging out of one ear, Chikusa just slowly opens one eye to glance over at him. He always seems out of place in hotels like this, where only the most extravagant kinds of furniture have been picked out. You know, the kind that seem like they belong in some sort of movie or a painting, all extravagant curves and cushions more art than comfort, things which don't seem like they should be lived on so much as admired from afar. They're _lavish_. Chikusa, with his worn out pants and shoes that almost seem to be falling apart, doesn't belong in such opulent surroundings.   
  
Takeshi loves him for that.

While Takeshi shucks off his shoes at the entrance out of old habits and nothing else, Chikusa fiddles with the ipod he has in his hand. "It's the city anyway... I wouldn't be able to make it to a window without someone seeing me." The fact that his complain is _that_ instead of how they're on one of the highest floors in the place makes Takeshi laugh, and Chikusa just tugs his earbuds out so that he can start winding them up. "All I did... was act like I needed to be somewhere, and no one really looked at me twice..."   
  
While he says it so dismissively, Takeshi is fairly certain that a lot more work was put into that. Just breaking into his room alone probably took a decent amount of work, especially if he didn't want to be caught by the security cameras. Not to mention... "No one said anything about your clothes?"  
  
Chikusa gives the slowest roll of his shoulders, something that is supposed to be a shrug but could be missed for anyone who wasn't focusing completely on him. "That's not really that hard... All you have to do is look down on anyone who asks... and say it's fashion." Patiently, he waits for Takeshi to quit laughing so hard once again.   
  
In his mind's eye, he can imagine it _perfectly_ , too. If he were someone with a more average height, maybe Chikusa's tactics wouldn't have worked so well. But Takeshi is delighted to say that Chikusa is just as tall as he is, maybe even a little taller against all the odds. This works out really great when Chikusa tries to say things like "You don't know anything about fashion", or whatever it is he said to employees who questioned him, because it lets him _literally_ look down at them. Plus, people seem to think his quiet and tired nature is somehow _snooty_ or arrogant when it's just... him being quiet and tired.   
  
Even if that's how it appears to other people, Takeshi likes it, personally, and so he doesn't hesitate to go over to the couch so that he can join his boyfriend. Chikusa has a _lot_ of leg, but that just means it's easier to hoist them up by his ankles so that Takeshi can duck underneath them and plop onto the cushions himself. This means that Chikusa's legs are stretched across his lap... but that's just how Takeshi likes it. Even if Chikusa doesn't have the most cuddly body type around, Takeshi likes the way he can almost... fold the other man up, against his own body. "Well, I'm glad that you made it in again," he says, leaning closer towards Chikusa. "Enjoy all the fancy stuff?"   
  
"....The baths were fine. Everything else is so unnecessary..."   
  
Takeshi laughs again, even as he tries to search around for the remote of the enormous television the hotel offers to all its residents so that they can see what's on the local channels.   
  
He doesn't need a lot from Chikusa, honestly. That's how their relationship has been from the very start, when they first stumbled into it a few years ago. Sometimes, he looks at the things people boast about on the internet, or in movies, all the wondrous ways that their special someone improves their life, and he can't really see him and Chikusa doing... a lot of it, honestly. One could even say Takeshi does a lot of the heavy lifting in the relationship. Maybe they're right.   
  
It's just, Takeshi can't see it that way. He doesn't do the things he does because he's expecting or even _wants_ something in return from Chikusa that's on the same level. When he used to bring leftovers from his dad's restaurant to the Kokuyo gang, or he cuddles up to him like now, he does it because... that's how he shows his affection, and he wants to show it all the time.   
  
Chikusa isn't like that. That sort of thing is too much energy, too much work, for someone like him. Other people would- wait, no, that's not right, other people _have_ told him that's insulting. What kind of boyfriend doesn't even put work into a relationship? Shouldn't that prove Chikusa doesn't even love him? When people say that kind of thing... Takeshi has a feeling they don't really get it. They're viewing Chikusa with the same lens they use to view _him_ , as if they could ever be the same people, with the same requirements for "work" or "happiness".   
  
It's the little things that are important with Chikusa. The small steps. Today, that's the way he nudges his fingers over Takeshi's hand, even as they watch some silly American show about all the most outrageous foods across the massive country. When they were first dating, he didn't even want to do that. "I guess the ridiculous food... is part of why some people like America," he mutters, eyes on the television screen.   
  
Takeshi grins widely. "Want me to grab you something from a restaurant?" he asks. In a big American city like this, he has no doubt that there has to be a restaurant not that far off with ridiculous foods, especially ones that pile tons of meat onto them. It's definitely one of those things that the country is well known for, no matter the place. He finds it kind of charming, honestly.   
  
"M.M. has your wallet," Chikusa reminds him, voice still slow and soft as usual while still somehow just a _little_ exasperated. The exasperation is another sign he cares, although Takeshi knows that idea would confuse a lot of people. That's because they don't realize that if Chikusa really can't stand something (or some _one_ ), then he gets rid of it. When he shows little hints of emotion like this, well, it's good, and that's all Takeshi has to say on _that_.   
  
Takeshi laughs again. "Oh, right! I guess I forgot," he says, still grinning. He'll have to wait for her to get back, when she's undoubtedly spent all the money he's given her, probably on fancier food than the kind of mile high pile of meat between two buns that is currently on display on the television. With Chikusa's hand finally full enveloping his, Takeshi turns his hand around so that he can grip it in order to guide it up to his lips for a quick kiss. "What are *you* doing in America, anyway?" he asks, like he doesn't already know anyway. When it comes to Chikusa, it's so often the same thing.   
  
Sure enough, Chikusa just watches Takeshi quietly, even as he answers, "Killing someone." That much is a given. The only reason Chikusa seems to allow Mukuro to make him move at all is if it's to kill someone they deem as making the world _considerably_ worse. It's frankly a miracle that they haven't assassinated any world leaders yet, but that feels like it's just going to be a matter of time. Yet for how flashy and sometimes reckless the Kokuyo gang are, Mukuro is still _careful_. If he wasn't careful, him and the others would have gotten caught a long time ago. Again. Slowly, Chikusa shifts each knuckle up one by one for Takeshi to keep kissing, watching him the whole time. "The long way," he clarifies after a second.

"Aaaah," Takeshi says, understanding what Chikusa means perfectly. That means the person Chikusa is after won't die _immediately_ , by way of poison needles or through his food. Rather, Chikusa will do all the hard work of getting close to his target, taking out whoever needs to be taken out on the way and slipping past any security in a way that would make cat burglars jealous, before Mukuro takes over in order to mark the target down with his trident.   
  
Takeshi is pretty sure that Mukuro has stopped for the whole... world domination thing, which he's honestly pretty glad for, because it doesn't sound like there's room for baseball or his friends in a world covered in blood, or however Mukuro described it. But that doesn't mean, for whatever reason, Mukuro has stopped _possessing_ people. Takeshi asks about it, sometimes, but other times he doesn't prod his nose too much into it. After all, as long as Mukuro doesn't go after people who haven't done anything (relatively, since Mukuro seems to think they're all full of sin somehow? ha ha), then it should be fine, right? And Takeshi thinks he's gotten better, ever since he first started all that trouble in Namimori.   
  
"Well, if you need somewhere to hide, you know how to call me," he says cheerfully, sliding his arm around Chikusa's back. His shirt gives him a little more volume than he would have otherwise, but that still doesn't escape the fact that Takeshi can still feel the bumps of his spine when he draws his boyfriend in close. At least now he can be assured that it isn't because Chikusa is starving or anything like that. It would be pretty hard to do that, with how much he used to pass him leftover sushi and rice back in high school, let alone lately. "Have you done anything else in the city before you came this way?"   
  
Chikusa allows him to pull him close, only to nod his head at the messenger bag that's been slouched on the coffee table before them. Hopefully it doesn't scratch the wood, because Takeshi would feel pretty bad if that happened... but on the other hand, he understands what Chikusa means. With Chikusa still held close against him, long limbs all scrunched up on his lap and the couch both, Takeshi leans forward to drag the bag over. This makes it easier for him to dig through it, and Takeshi isn't surprised what he sees in there.   
  
It's beanies. Just dozens, probably, of beanies. It makes him grin a little bit, and he only grins even more when Chikusa pulls out a beanie with the local sports team on it. Takeshi doesn't take offense that it's a rival team to his own; Chikusa is a _collector_. He apparently wants every single beanie in the world if he doesn't have it already, and Takeshi is delighted to have the knowledge that his boyfriend carries with him at least a dozen different beanies with him at any given time. You know, just in case one of them gets bloody. It's good to be prepared.   
  
"I hear there's the largest mall in the world somewhere else in the country," he says, as if it's just a short drive or train ride away like it would have been in Japan and not a trip that would take them literally days. "Maybe we can drop by there sometime! I bet they have a lot more hats, and the food court is probably pretty impressive. We should visit it." You know, assuming he can finish his own tasks, like the meeting and visits he has to do as a part of his baseball career, or the people Tsuna wants him to see while he's in the area for the good of the Vongola.   
  
Chikusa just nudges his bag onto the floor, where it hits with a distinctly soft sort of sound, and blinks at him. "...We'll see what Mukuro-sama says." That, too, isn't something particularly surprising to hear from him.   
  
Takeshi doesn't mind. All he does is nod, cheerful about it, before he hauls himself up onto his feet with a grunt and his boyfriend in his arms. "Well, let's check out the rest of the place, because I bet you hit the couch the second you got in, ha ha."   
  
While he may be tall, Chikusa doesn't weigh much, either, comparatively, and he doesn't move a whole lot either. This makes it pretty easy for someone like Takeshi to haul him around, really whenever he likes. Ken, he knows, does the same thing. He's pretty sure Chikusa even likes it, because why wouldn't he? This is the absolute least amount of movement he can get away with while still going places, so of course he likes it. More than that... Takeshi thinks he might even just like being close to someone, although he'd never admit it.   
  
But then, Chikusa doesn't outright admit a lot of things. That's part of what Takeshi likes about being with him, in any way possible: learning bits and pieces one by one, and feeling ever closer to a person who took months just to hold his hand.   
  
So he carries Chikusa throughout the enormous suite, checking out the small kitchen area, the bedroom that will be M.M.'s and the one they've taken for themselves, and even the bathrooms that have apparently gotten Chikusa's stamp of approval. It's easy to see why, honestly, with how fancy the shower settings are, and how enormous the tub is. Once he sees that, Takeshi makes an executive decision for the both of them, and announces with a laugh, "Man, I stink from that flight! Let's take a bath."   
  
From where his head has been lolling in his efforts to check out the rest of the bathroom from his place in Takeshi's arms, Chikusa moves his head just enough to raise an eyebrow at him. "Is this... an excuse to just get me naked?"   
  
Yamamoto bursts out laughing, barely managing to stay on his own two feet even as he hauls Chikusa up onto the bathroom counter. "Always!" he says cheerfully, winking up at him as he sinks down to his knees.   
  
And maybe it's true, a little, although not for the reasons someone might normally think one person would want the other person naked. Which isn't to say he doesn't like sex, or sex with Chikusa. Sex with Chikusa is perfectly fine- sometimes it's even great! Part of it is because Chikusa in sex is Chikusas he is in the rest of life: quiet. It takes a lot of work, lots of patience and knowing exactly where to touch him, to earn any sort of soft sound or strangled gasp out of his throat. Takeshi likes hearing those, knowing that he's penetrated in more ways than one, and drawn out the parts of Chikusa that so few others would ever see. What can he say? Maybe he's a little greedy, like that.

But there's something else to it, too. There's the... inherent vulnerability, he guesses, of seeing Chikusa completely laid bare before him. Yamamoto acts oblivious a lot of the time, he knows... and his priorities don't always seem to match up with other peoples, he knows that too. But he's not dumb, not by a long shot, and he knows what kind of life Chikusa has lived, at least a little bit. He knows it as well as any other person can know another's life without having lived it.   
  
To get close to another person was to give them an opening. That much he knows, because it's the sort of thing he thinks a person starts automatically realizing once they learn how to fight in order to protect themselves, or have to survive a life or death situation. Yet Chikusa, he knows, didn't even have the option of choosing to get into a fight. What he had to deal with first was other people causing him harm for their own selfish gains... and then again when him and the others in the gang had escaped into the world at large.   
  
And then, well, then they started to kill a bunch of people? Which was kind of a problem in a lot of ways, although Takeshi isn't entirely sure how much he can _judge_ any of them. Tsuna sure doesn't like killing people, and Takeshi wouldn't really say it's his first choice, but, you know, he's still in the mafia, so. Yeah!   
  
Whether or not it was a problem, however, that doesn't take away the fact that it _happened_ , and that keeping himself from being touched was important once more in order to avoid harm. So when Chikusa does this, just watches him with those soft lavender eyes of his while Takeshi pulls one shoe off of his foot and then the other... It means something.   
  
The slide of his shirt off of his shoulders by Takeshi's hands means he can afford to be relaxed around him without going into fight-or-flight.   
  
The feel of Takeshi's calloused palms means he'll let him see the many variety of scars he's gained over the years, and trust Takeshi won't add another to the list.  
  
The way his entire body is laid bare, with him even arching up his hips or moving his legs to help in the process, means he loves him.   
  
Like Takeshi said. It's the little things, when it comes to being in love with Chikusa.   
  
Despite being a guy who seems to care so much about cleanliness, that only really seems to apply to Chikusa's own body. When it comes to the things he wears or uses? He couldn't care less. So Takeshi doesn't stress about it too much either as he tosses Chikusa's clothes to the side, soon joined by his own as he peels his shirt up over his head and wiggles out of his pants. Chikusa doesn't help, just watch, his eyes slow and relaxed as they follow the curve of Takeshi's chest or the shadows playing along the little indents like his collarbone. "We should have started up the bath before now," is all he says, when Takeshi is already more than half done and is just down to his underwear.   
  
That bit of common sense has him pause, blinking a couple of times. "Oh, yeah!" he says, chuckling. "Why didn't you say that earlier?"  
  
"...I was waiting to see if you would realize it yourself." Reaching up, Chikusa finally takes off his glasses and sets the frames off to the side, where they'll... probably be alright. At the very least, Takeshi is pretty sure that they won't get much worse than they already tend to be. Chikusa has gone through a lot of glasses just in the time that Takeshi has been dating him, all because of his complete disregard for his own safety at times. It can be considered a good year when they manage to stay on his face for about that long without being replaced.   
  
Chuckling, Takeshi straightens up and braces his hands against the counter, on either side of Chikusa's legs. "We could probably keep each other occupied until the bath fills up," he says playfully, leaning in to press a quick kiss to Chikusa's cheek.   
  
Just like on the couch, Chikusa rests his hand over Takeshi's, bit by bit, finger by finger. "...I don't think most men... would boast about being quick in that manner." When Takeshi bursts out laughing again, absolutely delighted, Chikusa waits him out. "Just start up the bath."   
  
Back in middle school, he remembers how hard it had been to find anyone who realized that. While he'd been popular back then, a popularity that's always seemed to stick with him up until now, it had been hard to find anyone who actually seemed to be on the same wavelength as him, or who made the effort to reach across the gap. He was Yamamoto Takeshi, the person everyone could always rely on whether it came to a bright smile or carrying them through to the next game of the season. In a lot of ways, he thinks that's true even now, even though those who he's connected with in the Vongola have had years to see through to the rest of him. Yet there was no true _interest_ from those people; they only heard what they wanted to from him.   
  
Chikusa, for whatever reason, isn't like that. It's almost kind of funny, in a way, because everyone else generally agrees that Chikusa isn't a person with a great deal of social skills, even Chikusa himself. Most of the time, that's true, sure. Takeshi might not know what he's like in public, due to all the issues that has from his fame and both of their connections to the underworld... but he's seen how Chikusa acts with the other people they know, whether that's any of his people or any of Takeshi's. Tact takes effort, after all, and that's one of the things Chikusa hates the most if he really has to deal with it at all.   
  
And yet, against all odds... He's the best listener Takeshi has ever met, outside of Tsuna, who he knows mostly listens to him so carefully because he'll probably never quite shake off that worry from middle school that was their first true meeting. Takeshi wonders why that is, sometimes. Is it because, unlike the average person he shared classes with or that he passes by in the street, Chikusa doesn't need to make himself palatable for every single other person? It might not make sense, at first, but Takeshi has had a long time to turn it over in his head, and he thinks he gets it.   
  
Him, sure he's popular, but it's come at something of a cost, where he's constantly moderating his own expressions or feelings because the alternative is letting people down. Whether he likes it or not, he's constantly aware of other people's perceptions about him, or how their feelings are. That sort of thing... It's _exhausting_ , even if he wouldn't change how it is himself. It's more work than he ever really asked for.

In contrast, Chikusa cares about three people, maybe four, and finds everyone else to be not worth his time because he's long come to terms with the fact that their opinions matter overall very little to his life. There's no classroom full of people for him to be constantly aware of, always wondering what he looks like to another person's eyes. Chikusa's plan for life seems to be, so long as he's not so suspicious looking that a cop will pull him to the side wondering if he's shoplifted, then he doesn't particularly care what other people perceive of him. All Chikusa cares about is occasionally reining in Mukuro when the other's extravagance or temper seems to be getting to be a little too much, which Takeshi honestly finds pretty impressive, or making sure Ken is occupied so that _he_ doesn't go running off to find something to do on his own.   
  
Their perceptions of him... almost seem to be the last thing to care about on Chikusa's list. But Yamamoto sort of gets that. It's similar to how he is with Tsuna, because Tsuna... has already seen him at his worst. Tsuna has seen him at his lowest. Thanks to that, while he doesn't always take him up on the unspoken offer that's between them, Takeshi knows it's there, and that he can be a little more true to himself when he's around Tsuna. Likewise, well... Not only have the Kokuyo gang seen each other at their lowest, but they've almost sort of embraced that.   
  
What that means for _him_ and Chikusa is that, well... Instead of caring about the thoughts or perceptions of any random dozen people who are around him, all Chikusa has to do is care about the three... and since he's not putting in much work for Mukuro and Ken a lot of the time, unless Mukuro is _really_ talking instead of just gloating or teasing, that means Chikusa has more than enough energy and interest to spare for Takeshi.   
  
After dating for something over five years, Takeshi has pretty sure that's how it works. At least, he can't think of any other explanation, and it's not something he's stayed up late at night pondering. It's just a little thing he's turned over his head sometimes, before he falls asleep, or when he's on a train going elsewhere.   
  
So today, with just the two of them in a bathroom waiting for the tub to fill up, he cheerfully talks about all sorts of things. With Chikusa, he can talk about the whole range, honestly. There are the little things, like the hilarious event on the plane from Japan where a grandmother type gleefully taught an American girl the lyrics to one of the more annoying animated movie songs while the mother could only look on in vague horror. There are the big things, like how Lambo is getting old enough now to be included in online calls regarding Family business. There's everything in the middle, too, and Takeshi doesn't hold back on any of it, not until the tub is filled nearly to the brim and he can haul Chikusa up into his arms again. Sure, it's not really _necessary_ , even Chikusa can walk a yard or two... but he likes it.   
  
If Chikusa were shorter, Takeshi could probably cuddle him up in his arms, but that's not the dice roll fate has given them. They're both tall, Chikusa in an especially lanky sort of way, so Takeshi just has to deal with that although he doesn't let up on being the big spoon as they settle into the water. "So is Mukuro going to show up in America too?" he asks, raking wet fingers back through Chikusa's hair.   
  
Chikusa follows the movement, rolling his head back and sinking against Takeshi's chest. At least here, Takeshi has him beat. Then again, most people have Chikusa beat when it comes to not being thin as a stick. "He hasn't told me," he murmurs, and Takeshi takes a moment to admire the way his eyes are closed, the way his eyelashes brush against his cheeks. "Possibly. It's a large country."   
  
"I'd love to go traveling through all of it," Takeshi agrees, continuing the slow and relaxed motions of drawing his fingers through Chikusa's hair. Takeshi doesn't usually have to worry about knots or tangles in his hair, just short enough to never deal with such things, but Chikusa is just on the other end of that scale. He needs to be careful a little bit, sometimes, even though he knows pain wouldn't register to Chikusa anyway. "Ha ha, do you think we could make a group date out of it? You and me and Mukuro." He laughs some more, although he's also at least a little serious.   
  
M.M. makes fun of him for this relationship tangle, sometimes, and Gokudera is exasperated by it, but that really is how it works. Takeshi knows he's not the only person Chikusa loves, although Chikusa himself would probably shy away from using such strong language. Mukuro will always be his most important person, and so will Ken. They're important to Chikusa like... organs are important. Mukuro probably counts as one of his lungs, likely even both. Ken? Takeshi would say Ken is Chikusa's heart, in more ways than one. As for himself, well, Takeshi isn't sure if he would ever put himself down for something so important like those organs, but he likes to think of himself as something at least a little helpful. Maybe a kidney.   
  
The point is that they're all important for Chikusa in different ways, and Takeshi is fine being important to him in a different way than Mukuro is.   
  
After all the actual cleaning part of the bath has been taken care of, they're both left to just happily lounge in the hot water, and Chikusa is so still that one could be mistaken in thinking that he had fallen unconscious. Takeshi couldn't judge in that case; he'd gotten mixed up more than a few times at the beginning of their relationship as well. But now he knows Chikusa is just like that: still and silent. The way the world seems to turn on a rainy day, where there's just the steady drone of water silencing it all out.   
  
Maybe that's another reason he likes Chikusa so much, on that vague sort of astrology match up way. Rain is rain is rain.   
  
So that just makes it even funnier when Chikusa suddenly speaks up, voice a dull murmur. "Do you think anyone will try to assassinate you this time around?"   
  
Another bubble pop of laughter hops out of Takeshi's throat. "Maybe!"

On the bright side, no one tries to assassinate him while they're having a bath, which is really all Takeshi thinks he can ask for. He just gets to enjoy being with Chikusa, and the only interruption they get is when they're finally done, and Takeshi has to scurry out to the living room area to grab his cell phone do they get interrupted. It's only M.M., of course, and she pauses there in the doorway to take a look over him: absolutely naked, water slick and shiny on his skin, one of Chikusa's beanies in the hand _not_ holding his cell phone.   
  
As she's done just about every time she's stumbled onto him naked or in a compromising position, M.M. just rolls her eyes. "You're lucky that Chikusa is the kind of paranoid bastard who closes the blinds first thing whenever he enters a building," she tells him, kicking the door closed behind her. Sure enough, just like he thought, she has probably a good half a dozen bags hanging from her arms. He wouldn't be surprised if she'd had other things sent to whatever fancy place she's living at now. Takeshi has never visited. He's pretty sure that's on purpose.   
  
"He is pretty careful!" he says cheerfully, taking both phone and beanie in one hand now while his other hand goes to rest on his hip. Much like Chikusa doesn't care about other people, M.M. doesn't care about how other people look unless it's directly related to whatever job she's currently on. Since they're not in public, she doesn't care that Takeshi has his dick out. She's been equally accommodating-slash-apathetic whenever she's stumbled onto him and Chikusa having sex.   
  
Takeshi rather likes M.M., honestly. You know, as much as M.M. allows anyone to like her.   
  
While M.M. puts her bags down besides one of the armchairs, Takeshi keeps cheerfully talking. "Hey, have you gotten lunch or dinner yet? I was talking with Chikusa, and I was thinking, hey, why not get some of those really outrageous or fun burgers that America loves so much, and if you haven't gotten anything, it would sure save us some time if I got everything for us together, right?"  
  
Sweeping some of her hair back from her face as she straightens up, M.M. sighs. "You have soooo much money, and yet you're going to use it on cheap burgers?"   
  
"Ha ha, yeah. So, does that mean you don't want one?"   
  
"Of course I want one." M.M. flicks one finger at him, the nail carefully manicured. "No onions, but I'll take everything else on it, alright?"  
  
With a wink and a playful salute, Takeshi says, "Yes, ma'm!" This will probably just add to the rumors a bit more, honestly, but that works out for him. Isn't that the whole reason he hired M.M. in the first place?   
  
While he's still grabbing his bags from near the doorway so that he can get dressed, Chikusa finally comes out himself - probably after hearing M.M. and Takeshi talking. He's _also_ naked, and Takeshi realizes in that moment that it didn't occur to him to ask if Chikusa had brought a set of spare clothes with him to his hotel room. Well! Hopefully that doesn't turn out to be a problem. While Takeshi is pondering over this, Chikusa just blinks slowly at where M.M. has draped herself across one of the other many plush chairs. "...I thought there were more stores for you to go to than just that."   
  
All M.M. does is scoff, her chin tilted up so imperiously that actual royalty would probably be envious if they ever saw her do it. "I'm not going to rush myself _shopping_ , that defeats the whole _point_ ," she informs Chikusa as she ferrets out her own phone and begins to click around on it. Takeshi asked her what she does on it so much, once, and the answer is apparently a _lot_ of gacha games. "Besides, Yamamoto, you're going to be here for a while, aren't you?" She barely waits for him to nod his head before continuing. "So I have plenty of time to look over more places if I want."   
  
"It is a pretty big city," Takeshi agrees, not minding when Chikusa outright takes the clothes he'd pulled out from his luggage. Well, that answers just what he was planning to do on the subject of clothes. They'll hang off of him a little bit, but still fit pretty well. "It's a shame we can't do the same together, huh, Chikusa?"   
  
Wiggling into Takeshi's pants, and not in the usual way, Chikusa just blinks at him. "That... sounds really tiresome. And I don't need that much..."   
  
"Says the nerd who's spent thousands of dollars on just his dumb hats," M.M. scoffs.   
  
Takeshi laughs some more, genuinely because the bickering is amusing and not because he feels any need to break it up or lighten things either. M.M. is bossy and stuff, sure, but she doesn't tend to start fights she doesn't have to, and it usually takes a lot more than this to annoy her. She's been in the underworld for a while. While one wouldn't assume it just by looking at her, her experience has definitely had her gain some sort of patience over the years. As for Chikusa, well... It's Chikusa. Takeshi wouldn't say he always picks his fights wisely, but he doesn't like to go with fights either unless Mukuro tells him to.   
  
"Anyway, I think I'm going to get a late lunch, okay, Chikusa?" he asks his boyfriend cheerfully. "What kind of burger do you want?"   
  
Chikusa takes his time thinking over this, tugging one of Takeshi's shirts over his head with absolutely no idea just how the sight of that sets something hot off in Takeshi's chest. It might be love, or it might be arousal. Maybe both. The details don't really matter, he thinks, so he just enjoys the view. "Whatever is the least messy," he finally says. "I don't want it dripping all over me..."   
  
Right, right. That cleanliness at work. Finally pulling on his own clothes as well, Takeshi grins even as his head pops through the opening of his shirt. "Got it! Then I'll see you two in a little while! If they're burgers, then they probably won't take _too_ long, right?"  
  
"America's weird," Chikusa mutters, which apparently shows enough of his doubt in the prospect, but all M.M. does is take out Takeshi's wallet from her cleavage and toss it over to him. It's a neat trick of hers that he really appreciates, honestly. With one more laugh, he waves at them both, well aware that he'll likely come back to find Chikusa giving her tips on how to game any one of her gachas and make people wonder what the hell is up with user "More Money". Well, as long as they're having fun. Takeshi leaves them to it, already looking up on his phone where the nearest and most interesting burger joints are at.

It's admittedly a strange life he's managed to put together, Takeshi muses as he makes his way down the hall to the elevator, which will take him a good long while until he can get to the ground floor. When he was a kid, he never thought that his life would end up like this, from the mafia part to being in a threeway relationship where the woman is just acting as his beard against the rest of the world while his lower-than-mafia boyfriend aggressively ducks out of the spotlight while being shared with another man. But honestly... Takeshi doesn't mind it.   
  
That should probably worry him more than it does, he guesses, but it doesn't. He's happy. His friends are kept safe, in no small part from his own efforts. He has a boyfriend who loves him, in his own quiet and subtle ways. This is all he figures he can really ask for. With the bigger things, well, he'll leave that to people higher up than him, the people he can trust, like Tsuna, who just wants to make the world better starting with the Vongola and then moving outwards.   
  
All Takeshi has to do is just keep living his life, protecting the people he cares about, and occasionally, like when he tries to duck down an alleyway for a short cut his phone is convinced exists, take out yet another assassin wanting to weaken the Vongola empire. He doesn't even need to use any of his swords, just a little bird and some quick footwork.   
  
"Jeez, you really did catch me at a bad time," he says as he makes sure to hide out of sight by a dumpster, using the would-be assassin's own shirt and pants to effectively tie them up and gag them. "Ha ha, but I won't hold it against you." He _will_ , however, dump them in the dumpster itself under some convenient garbage bags, and dust off his hands as he steps back. While it's the best thing to get rid of someone for a while without involving the cops, it _does_ put a slight dent in his plans to get dinner. After all, now his hands are filthy, and while Chikusa is normally pretty relaxed about a lot of filth so long as it doesn't get on _him_ , he'll probably still be annoyed if he catches wind of this.   
  
Well, it's probably going to take him a while to deal with all of this anyway, between assassins and the paparazzi, so Takeshi takes his phone out again and quickly calls up M.M. He's hoping that he's not interrupting any of her gacha gaming, but he gets something even better when Chikusa's sleepy voice answers him. "Is the restaurant on fire..."   
  
"Nope!" Takeshi responds cheerily. "Although that might be easier, ha ha. But I ran into a little bit of trouble, so it might take a while longer for me to come back with the food. If you and M.M. want to order something up, feel free to add it onto my tab!"   
  
Chikusa lets out a sigh so quiet that the phone receiver barely picks it up, but he doesn't waste any energy complaining. Frankly, Takeshi is fully expecting him to either say his good-byes or just outright hang up. Instead, to his surprise, Chikusa actually speaks up again. "...Do you need them taken out quicker..?"  
  
The grin on his face couldn't spread out any wider. "I think poison needles might draw a lot of attention," he has to say regardless. "But thanks, ha ha! I promise that I'll take care of things really quickly, so don't worry."   
  
"....Mm. Oh, right, one more thing..."   
  
"Extra fries. Extra salt if you can get away with it. When you're done taking care of the pests..."   
  
All Takeshi can do, inbetween his laughter, is promise that he'll absolutely pick up extra fries. Once he makes sure to tuck his wallet and cell somewhere that they won't fall out of during any reckless fights, Takeshi takes off already trying to figure out how to get past the paparazzi while also dispatching of the no-doubt multiple assassins who want to see him dead.   
  
Yeah. It's definitely a strange and very bizarre life. But with the Vongola anchoring him, and a lover with fries to return to... He thinks it's one really worth living.

**Author's Note:**

> Cloud Day, Ten Years Later
> 
> no plot, only cuddling, and making myself hungry for cheeseburgers


End file.
